Beyond the Veil
by CallingApathy
Summary: Beyond the Veil, there is only death. Well I have been to death and back, I have fallen into lost magics and I have woken horrors that have slumbered for aeons. All to bring back my godfather. I'm Harry Potter, budding necromancer.


Heyyy everyone, this is my first attempt at writing any fanfiction.

It's a fusion story between Harry Potter and the Abhorsen series

Disclaimer: I think it's fairly obvious to even the most ignorant individuals that I do not own Harry Potter or the Abhorsen series.

Thanks heaps, please review

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><p>Beyond the Veil, there is only death.<p>

I'd heard that many times in recent memory.

Nobody understood my obsession with it; they beat it into my head time and time again that naught but the cold coils of the Reaper lay beyond that mysterious archway.

Old wizards, wise wizards, wizards who knew far more than I about the elusive mysteries that plague our existence; they all said the same thing. They said to abandon my quest; they said that I would not be so lucky to escape the Veil again. They said that I would be forever claimed by death.

Who are they to tell me anything?

What do they know about the hollow peace of death?

Nothing

They live their lives free from its taint until their time comes to enter the River.

They weren't completely wrong though, no matter how much I wished it were so. There was nothing that I wanted more than to be able to tell them that the Veil wasn't what they thought, that there was another world on the other side of that crude stone arch. But I couldn't, I would give anything to be able to, but I couldn't.

For the truth is, death does lie across the Veil.

It's just not the death they knew.

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><p><em>June 1996 – Department of Mysteries<em>

My world changed in an instant.

A snarl, a jet of light, and then a piercing sense of loss.

I could see the resolve in the faces of those who fought to save us from my folly.

I could see that bitch's mask of fury begin to shift into an elated cackle.

But most importantly, I could see the fading ghost of my godfather's smile as he disappeared into the nothingness of the Veil.

Rational thought left me; I heard his name echoing off the cavernous ceiling, but I was barely aware that it came from my own lips. I was quick and nimble as I darted across the battle, dodging errant beams of light. I cried out in pain as small shards of polished rock from a Detonation cruse embedded themselves into my side from, but my feet did not falter. I was focused on the Veil growing closer and closer in my vision.

Remus clutched at me in my last steps to the Veil, trying to prevent me from following my godfather. It was very like him to do that, pushing aside his own grief for the sake of his duties. In hindsight I feel fairly terrible about throwing my elbow into his chest, rather viciously I might add. His grip loosened just enough for me to make it those final paces. He would blame himself for that, for letting me go.

But that didn't matter to me anymore; I was already surrendering into the ghostly clutches of the archway.

At first, all I felt was warmth.

A warmth that transcended all of the physical senses, it settled into the very core of my being and pushed away everything but that single sensation.

It was like a guiding light, welcoming me home.

But that passed…it passed far too quickly and left me with a gaping chasm in my being. The absence of that warmth seemed wrong on the most basic level; like something deep inside me had been dislodged from its proper place. I was cut off from the fundamental goodness of the human condition; and all I had left was the darkness in the recess of my soul.

Then came the cold.

A piercing, and painful cold that settled into my very bones. The pain in my side disappeared, completely numbed by the environment, but I was acutely aware that the blood dripping down my side had frozen on my skin.

In spite of the bitter chill, it wasn't until I felt a tugging on my legs that my eyes snapped open.

It was…grey.

A grey mist partially obscured everything, it was nigh impossible to see more than a few feet into the distance. I could hear a faint sound of rushing water, and I was aware of an odd light emanating from behind me.

The tugging at my knees grew more insistent, prompting me to look for the cause and it was only then that I became aware I was standing in a river.

A river of black, ice-cold water that seemed to have a mind of its own.

My breath came in sharp gasps, panic set in as I realised how phenomenally stupid my actions were. I had gone through a mysterious veil, a veil that seemed to contain hundreds of whispering voices that only I – and Luna – could hear.

I wanted to run, to flee towards that welcoming portal of light that I knew would take me back.

It had taken me longer than I was proud of, but I finally realised what this place was.

The river, the separation from the most basic elements of life…

This was death.

But I wasn't ready to die.

I could feel the current grow stronger around my knees, seemingly trying to pull me towards that distant rushing sound.

But I knew, I knew that it wasn't my time to die.

'It isn't my time to die,'

Strangely, as soon as those words left my lips that current seemed to slacken slightly and the temperature grew almost imperceptibly warmer.

Even with the change, my desire to leave had not abated. But I knew I couldn't, not until I had what I came for.

With my head held high and my wandtip lit, I set off into the mist to find Sirius.

I knew where he would be.

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><p>The Department of Mysteries was silent.<p>

The spellfire ceased, the bodies stilled and the fury was smothered.

A state of shock settled over the room, friend and foe alike gaped at the Veil that had claimed the Boy Who Lived.

A noise from Bellatrix broke the silence.

A quiet giggle that then became a wicked cackle, laden with elation and satisfaction.

She slipped out through a door but her laugh lingered, mocking the failure of the Order.

A snarl reverberated in the throat of Remus Lupin, the wolf inside him rising to the surface in the face of his fury. A twirl, a gesture, a butchered incantation and Rabastan Lestrange's shoulder exploded in a geyser of blood.

With the vicious attack of Remus, the battle began anew.

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><p>With each step I grew closer to the sound of rushing water.<p>

I couldn't explain how I knew where to go, but I did. I knew it like I knew what day it was, what my name was, and how to eat an Oreo. I just knew.

Every now and then I would catch a glimpse of a shambling figure in the corner of my eye.

Most were being swept away by the river, seemingly resigned to be taken beyond the waterfall. Others, they stood silently, watching me with an uncomfortable intensity. They never moved towards me, but I could feel the hunger in their gaze.

I ignored them for the most part, but it made my skin crawl.

With each step, I grew more afraid.

I knew that the waterfall was getting closer, but there was still no sign of Sirius. If he had gone over, then it was done, finished, all over red rover. I couldn't follow him, not there.

I could see it now, the torrent of water rushing over an unseen edge into a gaping chasm. I felt the bitter touch of anguish within me, a cold within me that was so very different from the water. I had lost all hope until I saw a solitary figure standing on the edge of the precipice.

He seemed listless, resigned to his fate. The cheer and fire that made my godfather was absent. And yet, I knew without a doubt that this was him.

'Sirius!'

My shout carried across the water, filling the air that had previously been devoid of everything but the river, with life. One of the indistinct figures in the periphery of my sight seemed to take an involuntary step towards me, yearning for something that I couldn't quite identify. The comforting light of my Lumos spell disappeared from existence, my wand now alight with a seething red that betrayed my unease.

The man gave a start and turned abruptly in response to my call, and I was forced to smother a gasp.

Sirius had never completely regained his good looks after his escape from Azkaban, but his good nature could always be seen, even amidst his gaunt features.

But the man standing in front of me bore almost no resemblance to my godfather. The colour had been leeched from his face, leaving corpse-like chalky white skin. His eyes had always been haunted but they had still carried a glimmer of mischievousness, but now they were blank, devoid of emotion, dead to the world.

'Sirius?'

I saw something this time; when I said his name I saw a flash within his gaze. Life rushed back into his eyes and clarity returned.

'Harry,'

His soft utterance of my name accompanied by the small smile lighting his face nearly made me collapse in relief.

He wasn't gone, Sirius still lived inside this corpse in the river, and he could be brought back.

'Harry'

His voice was hardened this time, his face filled with fury,

'What the _**fuck**_ were you thinking?'

'I was trying–'

'This is Death, Harry! You followed me into Death. After everything that everyone has done to keep you alive, after your parents sacrificed themselves so that you could live, how could you throw all that away? How are you this careless with your own life? What the hell were you thinking!'

'I was trying to save your life!'

My yell, fuelled by my fury, shocked him into silence. Slowly, the rage on his face gave way to sorrow.

He gave a quiet sigh and remained silent for a few moments before speaking, his voice now gentle and filled with weariness.

'I died the moment I fell through the Veil. You can't save everyone, Harry.'

I knew I couldn't save everyone, I did. I was intellectually aware that many people would die before the end of this war, but emotionally…I wasn't prepared to lose Sirius. He offered the chance of a family, a fragment of the life I should have had. He was my godfather, no more, no less.

'I'm not trying to save everyone Sirius; I'm just trying to save you.'

Again he gave that weary sigh, the sigh of a defeated man. It was really starting to get on my nerves.

'It's too late for me,'

'Goddamn it Sirius! At least act like you want to live!'

'Of course I want to live,' I could hear the bitterness in his voice, the bitterness of a man resigned to his circumstance,

'Then act like it!'

'It's my time Harry; it's as simple as that. But it isn't yours, so you have to go back,'

'No'

'Harry…'

'I said no. I'm not going back without you,'

'You're being childish,'

'Impressive feat considering I never really had a childhood. Now shake a leg Sirius, you're coming back with me,'

'Harry, you're still alive. It defies all logic, you're literally in death but you're still alive. But me…I'm undeniably dead. I can't pass through the gate back into life, it's simply my time.'

I had nothing to say to that. That simple statement of fact struck me harder than an admission of a death wish would have.

This place was draining him; I could see the colour and life that had animated him when he first saw me slowly seeping away. The joy and trickster spirit that formed the identity of my godfather was slowly being claimed by death, leaving behind this shell of a man too battered by circumstance to do anything but be swept away by the current.

But I wasn't prepared to let death have him.

'Promise me'

'Promise you what?'

'Promise me that you'll wait here. You won't go any further. You will wait here until I can return and bring you back.'

'Harry!'

His voice was filled with shock, disbelief at the idea of his best friend's son delving deep into the darkest of arts.

'It looks like I'm holding the cards here Sirius, you'll promise me that you won't move and I'll go back to sunshine, smiles and s'mores,'

'Harry, you're talking about necromancy. Even if you were willing to corrupt yourself in the foulest ways possible, you would still only be able to raise me as an Infernius. It's better if you just let me go,'

'Fuck you Sirius, it's absolutely not better if I just let you go. You don't get to dangle the possibility of a family in front of me and then find a nice damp corner to die in. I'll find a way to do it Sirius; I just need you to promise me that you'll wait'

I could see pain flit across his face, recognition of that fact that I wouldn't leave until he agreed.

'Alright Harry'

I could see the lie

'No Sirius, I need you to promise,'

He hesitated, but he didn't really have any other options. I felt guilty, but I had to believe I could bring him back. I knew he couldn't really refuse me this. Sirius wouldn't ever be complicit in the only child of James and Lily remaining in death, no way no how. All I needed was a genuine promise. We both knew that he couldn't break a promise, not a promise to me.

'James would never forgive me if I let his only son die. I promise….I promise to try Harry, that's the best I can do'

I would have liked to stay; to spend a little more time with the godfather that I may never see again, but I knew I was running out of time. The current was growing stronger.

"Not to worry Padfoot, you'll be back to chasing the other puppies in no time'

In spite of his turmoil, Sirius grinned. He showed more of the Sirius that I knew and loved in that grin than he had in the entire time we'd been talking.

But even my bravado and casual disregard for the impossible couldn't fight the river for long. Almost immediately I saw Sirius return to that corpse like state, but with one difference that gave me the faith to leave. His eyes were no longer empty; they held the spark of determination.

With a sharp nod, I turned and began to plod back towards life.

Almost as an afterthought, I turned and raised my wand just as Sirius was about to disappear from my sight.

My voice was filled with fervour, my mind consumed by familial love as I roared,

'Expecto Patronum!'

Prongs erupted majestically from my wand, cantering in circles around me and bathing me in his silvery brilliance. In response to my nonverbal instruction, he left me and made his way toward Sirius.

The idol of my father would protect Sirius from the dementor-like properties of the river for as long as it was able. But I knew that it was at best, a stall.

I would have to work quickly.

In my eagerness to escape the deathly chill of the river, I failed to notice two peculiarities.

One being the faint pattern of silver keys on Prongs, and the second was the malevolent red eyes watching me hungrily.

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><p>When Albus Dumbledore entered the Death Room in the Department of Mysteries, it was immediately apparent to him that something was fundamentally wrong.<p>

It wasn't the grief on the faces of his comrades as they fought with a relentless fury, nor the conspicuous absence of Harry Potter. It was the noticeable reduction in temperature that turned breath into mist and the sharp, metallic scent that had permeated the air.

His attention was quickly drawn elsewhere, preventing him from lingering on the phenomenon.

A deafening whine filled the room as the heavy iron doors began to glow a cherry red. For a moment, everyone seemed to fall into a kind of suspended animation; all eyes were fixed on the foreboding spectre. Time resumed; wands moved hurriedly, frantically shaping shields as the door exploded. White hot fragments cut through the half-formed shields like they weren't even there, slicing deep into those behind them.

Heralded by rolling clouds of black smoke, Voldemort glided effortlessly through the ruined doorway with a cold smile.

His eyes were ablaze with triumph as they beheld the rigid form of Albus Dumbledore,

'Dumbledore'

'Tom'

Voldemort's eyes flashed with anger at the mention of his former name before quickly regaining their impassivity. His red eyes were fixed on Dumbledore's blue as he sunk into a shallow bow which was reciprocated by Dumbledore.

He threw a careless glance at the Veil that had claimed Harry Potter not an hour earlier,

'A monument to your death Dumbledore,'

A bolt of crackling black lightning erupted out of the tip of his yew wand, arcing towards the aged Headmaster.

Thus began the duel between two titans.

* * *

><p>My breath was pounding in my ears as each step fell faster and faster until I was almost sprinting through the river.<p>

I had realised the danger when I had turned to behold the distant glow of Prongs one final time before it disappeared in the fog. But in the place of my far-off Patronus, I beheld crimson spheres that were far too close for comfort.

Great eyes, wreathed in flame.

They were filled with a desperate hunger, a hunger that had gone un-satiated for far too long. I stood stock still and stared at those burning orbs, and as long as I did so, they didn't move either.

Then I caught it, it filled my nose and almost made me gag with disgust.

The filthy scent of long dead flesh.

I had smelled something similar, yet far less pronounced, in the graveyard after the Triwizard Tournament. The stink had filled the air as the result of Wormtail's grave-robbing and it had become a permanent part of Voldemort's new body.

Voldemort the walking corpse, here to block out the sun and take candy from children.

My heart was in my throat as I turned and ran toward the distant gateway that would return me to the Department of Mysteries. But when I begun to flee, I heard a furious snarl and heard the disturbance in the water.

I kept my eyes forward but I was always aware of its presence behind me, the sound of bone grating on bone. That sound grew closer and closer as desperation allowed it to move far faster than it a skeleton should.

I was fairly close to the gate when I heard it leap, a hungry roar filling my ears.

I turned and instinctively let loose a Reductor curse that met the lunging figure. In the instant before impact, I saw my pursuer by the light of spellfire.

A decayed figure, bones exposed with shreds of putrid flesh falling off them. Its internal organs were shrivelled and blackened, its eyes little more than orbs of light in black sockets.

My eyes were transfixed on its gaping maw when my curse hit, the animated corpse exploded, showering me with flesh and shards of bone which peppered my chest like shrapnel.

I fought the urge to vomit while I cleaned myself as best I could, the small remnants of flesh making small noises when they dropped into the river. I didn't even want to think about the fact I suddenly had a blocked nose.

I was about to turn away and continue to walk when the water began to ripple. My every instinct was screaming at me to run, to run run run as fast as I can and leave the gingerbread man for dead, but my eyes were transfixed on the disturbance.

The surface of the water exploded, I was showered with the freezing cold water of Death as a black shape violently broke through the surface.

I was instinctively cursing left and right while I spluttered and attempted to regain my footing. When I finally managed to recuperate the shape had disappeared from sight, but I could hear it skittering around in the mist. I twirled around constantly, trying in vain to catch it with spell as it rushed past me on occasion.

In a flash of spellfire I managed to catch a glimpse of it, a vaguely humanoid figure of an indeterminate black substance. I was momentarily transfixed by the monstrous sight and I paid for it as my arm exploded in pain.

I spared a glance and saw that my left sleeve was in tatters, deep claw marks had gouged my arm right to the bone.

I couldn't hear it moving anymore so I quickly wrapped it in makeshift bandages, an amateur attempt at the spell Lupin used to bind Ron's leg in our Third Year. I didn't have any need for a splint, but it was the best I could do.

I slowly crept back towards life, my wand aloft and my eyes searching for any sign of movement.

There! To my left were those burning red eyes, but they weren't moving.

'Fool'

It spoke; its speech was raspy but held an unnatural hunger and anger.

'It has been aeons since another last walked this way, I have waited a long time for another taste of life. And here you are, a reward for my patience. You were a fool to enter here without bells or a bespelled weapon; I will feast on your flesh and drain your essence so that I may walk again in Life.'

Almost instinctively I loosed a trio of reductor curse followed by a duo of banishers, hoping to knock it back and under the water to give myself time to escape. To my horror the curses seemed to simply disappear inside its form, having no effect but making it swell slightly.

I was lucky though; one of my curses hit the water just in front of it, prompting a fierce wave that dragged the inhuman figure under the surface with a roar of fury.

I knew it wouldn't halt it for long so I ran.

I ran as fast as I could toward the portal, I was so close.

I was close enough to feel the comforting warmth on my face, promising the sweet return to life and all it entailed.

I heard its thundering voice, filled with ferocity,

'No! I have waited too long to be denied!'

I felt a searing pain in my shoulder as I stumbled those last few steps out of Death.

I heard a bitter howl of loss as I fell back the way I came.

As I passed through the shimmering Veil that wonderful feeling of warmth encompassed me once more, but it was tainted.

Even that feeling couldn't eject the icy cold of Death that had settled into the depths of my soul.

* * *

><p>Voldemort and Dumbledore were standing a short distance apart, around them the battle continued. Order Members and Death Eaters alike lay on the ground amidst the chaos, although there were few fatalities.<p>

Dumbledore's robes were scorched, his left hand marred a minor puncture wound but otherwise his gaze was calm and his wand was steady.

Voldemort's face bore a minor scratch and there was a small laceration in his side, but appeared to be no worse for wear. His voice however, betrayed his frustration.

'Yield old man, Potter is dead and you have little else to pin your hopes on.'

Dumbledore's wan face was lit up by a smile and a glimmer returned to his eyes.

'The defining characteristic of Harry Potter is his ineffable ability to survive, even in the face of overwhelming odds. I very much doubt that he is as gone as you believe,'

Voldemort's face contorted with derision and disbelief,

'Your saviour is dead Dumbledore! He ran through the Veil of Death. Even you cannot be so blind as to ignore simple truth,'

The sound of a thousand screams filled the chamber, echoing of the walls to multiply the piercing sound. The ears of those closest to the Veil began to bleed, and the temperature which was still decidedly cool a moment ago rose to an almost uncomfortable heat.

The screeches abruptly stopped as a pale and bleeding Harry Potter stood on the edge of death's door.

* * *

><p>My feet refused to stop; they were reflexively running from the undead beast which I feared followed me through. They carried me right off the raised platform the Veil rested on and brought me to an ungraceful heap on the floor.<p>

I could see everyone staring at me in utter shock, jaws hanging open in disbelief.

Voldemort looked like he was fiercely clenching his jaw to prevent it from falling open in surprise, if only to preserve his feared Dark Lord image.

It was then that I realised I had completely ruined a potentially awesome dramatic entrance.

It didn't really matter much though, being back in life felt much too good to concern myself with wasting such a frivolous opportunity. I could almost sympathise with the creature that attacked me that was still trapped in death.

I had noticed that the river had been draining Sirius' personality but I had barely noticed that it had done that same to me. However it wasn't all good to be out of the River, with the dreadful cold gone I began to feel the full extent of my injuries.

I was acutely aware of the shards in my side and chest, both stone and bone. My arm was aching and blood was seeping through my crude bandage, causing my head to spin from blood loss.

My conclusion; life really fucking hurts

It could not get any worse than this.

Of course, giving such a blatant dare to the universe never ends well. So the next thing I knew, my world exploded in unbearable pain.

My head felt like it was being squeezed on all sides and I could feel the blood pouring from my scar.

I could hear Voldemort's voice in my head, bouncing off the sides of my skull. His words were indistinguishable through the pain, but I was fairly certain that they were generally questioning how and why.

His presence in my mind was like a drill, boring into the fibre of my being.  
>I could feel him, I felt his fear and his anger.<p>

I understood his desperation to know how I had escaped death.

I could distantly aware of Dumbledore at my side, urging me to focus on my love for my friends and family.

Naturally, I thought of Sirius.

I thought of Sirius and the promise of a family that accompanied him, I could feel Voldemort's pain, but the pressure did not abate.

The thoughts of Sirius led me back down the path to Death, I could feel it residing within me.

For lack of a better explanation, my thoughts turned cold.

The icy feeling of Death consumed me, I focused on that and nothing else and I could feel Voldemort's presence getting further and further away.

It began to feel so real for me that I could see the grey mist through my half closed eyes.

I felt his presence forcefully ejected from my head, accompanied by a keening screech of pain and frustration.

I fell into blackness.

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><p>Deep in the bowels of Hogwarts, there was a room that has long since been forgotten. This room held many things, secret things, important things. But the contents of this room had been lost to the ravages of time, forgotten after the need for them had been quelled. This room was the resting place of an ancient flute. A series of peculiar symbols had been carved into its surface, with each mark glowing with an unnatural light. The flute gave a single shrill whistle before the symbols grew dull and a thin crack ran down its side.<p>

The world grew a little bit darker.

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><p>So that's the first chapter,<p>

Please read, review and rend my story to pieces

Thanks,


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